A Baltimore man filed a $2 million lawsuit yesterday against two former city police officers and two others who remain on the force, accusing them of battery, false arrest and false imprisonment.

Two of the defendants, former Officers David Brendel and Gerald Tarud, resigned from the force in May after pleading guilty to improperly seizing scalpers' tickets at a baseball playoff game in an unrelated incident.

Yesterday's suit, filed in Baltimore Circuit Court, also names Officer Thomas Newman and Sgt. William Davis as defendants. Newman works in the department's Eastern District and Davis works in the Central Records Division.

City Solicitor Otho M. Thompson said yesterday that he had not seen the lawsuit and declined to comment on the case. He did say that normally the city would defend the officers in such cases because they were working in the line of duty.

In the lawsuit, Charles Williams, the plaintiff, alleges that he was beaten and falsely arrested on the afternoon of Sept. 29, 1995, on Loudon Avenue in West Baltimore.

Williams alleges that he was approached by Tarud and Davis in an unmarked police vehicle as he walked down Loudon Avenue toward Edmondson Avenue. Tarud got out of the car, drew his gun and walked toward Williams, ordering him to get down on his knees, according to the suit.

Despite compliance with the order and after Tarud searched him, Williams alleges, the officer struck him in the face and left ear with his pistol. Williams also accuses Tarud of kicking him a number of times.

Davis then approached Williams, asking, "Where are the drugs?" according to the suit. Williams said he told the officer he didn't have any drugs. But Tarud, after searching around nearby alleys and residences, later said, "I got some drugs," the suit says.

Williams was arrested and charged with drug possession and possession with intent to distribute.

Williams alleges that Tarud, Davis, Brendel and Newman conspired to bring the charges against him without cause. The charges were dropped Dec. 10, 1996, after Williams had been jailed 15 months.

"He suffered a great deal of emotional distress as a result of being incarcerated, wrongfully incarcerated," said Matthew E. Bennett, Williams' attorney.